Turkey to up ante as Assad gains increase: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Bill Jones, with the Executive Intelligence Review from Leesburg, about Syria accusing Turkey of sending foreign militants across the border into Syria to fight government troops in the western Province of Latakia.

What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.

Press TV: How far do you think Turkey is going to go in its support for these insurgents?

Jones: Well that is difficult to say. I think that also depends on the international context, the fact that the relations between the US and Russia have gotten considerably more tense in the recent period. It has of course put a monkey wrench into the negotiations that were going on with regard to the Syrian situation.

And Turkey has been mucking about in the region for quite some time giving support to the insurgents with a clear goal of trying to overthrow Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

And I guess that the fact that Mr. Erdogan who has come under a great deal of criticism as we approach this election, not only for the rampant corruption but also for carrying on this war in Syria, has gained something of a victory in the local elections and maybe he feels the wind is at his back and he can move further and that of course is a very dangerous situation if that is the case.

Press TV: Well right now, we earlier had of course news that told us artillery fire is being used against Syria from the Turkish border and we earlier had some reports or even suggestions that Turkey has already been discussing an attempt for direct military intervention.

Do you think that those suggestions are in any way true?

Jones: Well I think it is very plausible. The Assad with the hiatus in the diplomatic situation has gained more and more control of many of the areas that had fallen to insurgents.

And it seems to me that the backers of the insurgency which includes of course Turkey as well as Saudi Arabia probably are not very happy about that so that they would like to move further with trying to up the ante, so to speak, against Assad and again the fact that the international negotiations that have been called to resolve this situation or experience some difficulty because of the tensions in the US-Russia relation, that factor no longer plays a dominant role.

So it is a rather frightening situation where it is very likely that some of these parties including Turkey would want to push the envelopes, so to speak, in this situation.

Press TV: And just quickly Mr. Jones before we let you go, do you think that this haste is as much as to persuade Turkey to differentiate between the al-Qaeda linked insurgents or what’s being called the Free Syrian Army?

Do you think that the amount of support that is reaching the insurgents it does not matter who it is, it just matters that these supplies should actually reach the insurgents whoever they are as long as they are fighting Assad?

Jones: Well it really does not matter what they think, who they think they are supporting. The situation is such that the al-Qaeda elements have begun taking the upper hand in this so-called insurgency and although you formally may not be giving them weapons, although they may very well be doing that as well, the weapons are going to fall in their hands anyhow because they have kind of taken control of this thing.